Lasting machine



Oct 94 T. P. couRc-HENE 9,

LASTING MACHINE Filed Jan. 27, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet} I n 0 en for 7/zeodbre Caurchene T. P ZOURCHENE LAST- 'T-TG MACHINE Files. Jan. 2?, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 T. P. COURCHENE LASTING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet F'led Jan. 27, 1945 in 0 an far Reader? PCourchene Patented Oct. 15, 1946 LASTIN G MACHINE Theodore P. Courchene, Beverly, Mass, assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N. J a corporation of New Jersey Application January 27, 1945, Serial No. 574,355

7 Claims. 1

This invention relates to lasting machines, and is herein illustrated as applied to a machine constructed generally as disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 1,843,232, granted on February 2, 1932, on an application of B. Jorgensens, but modified in certain respects as further disclosed especially in Letters Patent No. 2,026,539, granted on January 7, 1936, and in Letters Patent No. 2,075,852, granted on April 6, 1937, on other applications of B. Jorgensens. Machines of that character are frequently used, as herein shown, for lasting tennis shoes or the like which are commonly made on metal lasts and in which the uppers are secured to insoles by adhesion. It is to be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the manufacture of shoes of that kind or, in some aspects, to machine organizations such as disclosed in the above-mentioned Letters Patent.

A machine such as that to which the invention is herein shown as applied is provided with toelasting means including a gripper which is closed by a treadle on the margin of the toe end of the upper prior to the starting of the power operation of the machine and serves thereafter to pull the upper in response to downward movement of the last effected by pressure applied to an insole on the last. The last with the upper and the insole thereon is mounted on a toe rest and on a heelend support which are movable downwardly with it; and also movable downwardly with the heelend support is a member herein termed a heel carriage which is provided with a heel band for clamping the upper against the last about its heel end and, if the heel end of the shoe is to be lasted by the machine, with wipers for wiping the margin of that end of the upper inwardl over the insole. The heel carriage is held initially retracted lengthwise of the shoe by a latch which is moved by the operator to release it prior to the starting of the power operation of the machine, Where upon a spring acting on the carriage moves it to a definitely determined position to carry the heel band toward the shoe. In response to the movement of the carriage the heel-end support acts to move the shoe yieldingly a short distance in the opposite direction to force it against the heel band, the band serving as an abutment for positionin the last lengthwise relativel to the toelasting means by engagement with the heel end of the upper.

In the use of such a machine, as constructed heretofore, the heel carriage has been released as above described by pressure of one of the operators knees against a plunger at the front of the 2 machine after the closing of the gripper on the toe end of the upper by the treadle. In order to save time and thus to increase the output of the machine, and also to avoid such objections as there may sometimes be to the use of the knee for releasing the heel carriage, especially if the operator is a Woman, the construction herein shown is such that the treadle which is used to close the toe gripper is used also to release the heel carriage. For this purpose there is provided a lever arranged to act on the above-mentioned plunger and a lost-motion connection between this lever and the treadle for operating the lever by further movement of the treadle after the closing of the toe gripper, the gripper-closing mechanism being so constructed as to permit such further movement of the treadle. By what may be, therefore, a practically continuous movement of the treadle, the operator first closes the toe gripper and then releases the heel carriage, thus saving a substantial amount of time as compared with previous practice as well as eliminating the need for use of the knee.

The above and other features of the invention, including various novel details of construction and combinations of parts, will now be more particularly described with-reference to the accompanying drawings and thereafter pointed out in the claims. Y r

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a view mainly in front elevation of the greater portion of the machine in which the invention is herein shown as embodied, with the parts as they appear after the toe gripper has been closed and the heel carriage released prior to the starting of the machine; 7

Fig. 2 is a plan view on a larger scale ofthe toe-lasting mechanism, with the parts in the same positions as in Fig. 1 but with the shoe omitted;

Fig. 3 is a section, also on an enlarged scale, on the line IlIHI of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view in front elevation of a portion of the structure shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a section on the line V-V of Fig. 2, but showing the toe gripper open;

Fig. 6 is a section substantially on the line V'IVI of Fig. 1; v I

Fig. 7 is a view in front elevation of a portion of the heel-end support, with a part broken away and with one form of last and shoethereonp Fig. 8 is a plan view of the heel-end support shown in Fig. 7; and

Fig. 9 is a section on the line IX-IX of Fig. 8.

In view of the disclosures in the above-mentioned Letters Patent, only such portions of the machine as it is necessary to refer to for an understanding of the invention will be herein particularly described. The machine herein shown is constructed for lasting only the toe and heel ends of the shoe, the side-lasting mechanisms sometimes included heretofore in machines .of the illustrative type being omitted.

For supporting the last and shoe the machine includes, as heretofore, a slide 2 movable downwardly against the resistance of a spring 4 by pressure applied on the bottom of the heel end of the shoe and a toe rest 6 movable downwardly against the resistance of aspring .8 by pressure applied on the bottom of the toe end of .the shoe. The shoe and its supporting means are thus moved downwardly in the power operation of the machine by a toe presser-foot l8 and a heel presserfoot l2 arranged to engage the toe and heel ends of the insol respectively. The toe presser-foot is supported on an arm 14 which by means of a handle [6 is swung forwardly by the operator to carry the toe presser-foot to a position over the toe end of the shoe, whereupon the machine is started and the arm is moved downwardly to carry the presser-foot into engagement with the insole and to impart to the toe end of the shoe its downward movement. As the toe presser-foot is thus moved downwardly the heel presser-foot is swung automatically to a position over the heel end of the shoe and is moved downwardly to depress that end of the shoe.

The toe-lasting mechanism includes a toe band is which embraces the upper about the toe end of the last and wipes the upper heightwise of the last in response to the downward movement of the last, and also includes toe-embracing wipers 26 (Fig. 2) which are thereafter operated to wipe the margin of the toe end of the upper inwardly over the insole into position to adhere to the insole. Further included in the toe-lasting mechanism is a device 22 which serves as a toe gripper and which clamps or grips the marginal portion of the toe end of the upper and applies a pull to the upper in response to the downward movement of the last. This device, in accordance generally with the disclosure of Letters Patent No. 2,075,852, comprises a lower clamp member 24 (Fig. curved to extend around the end of the toe and having an upper-clamping portion cated immediately over the wipers 26, and a cooperating clamp member 28 movable relatively to the member 24 to clamp or grip the margin of the upper positioned by the operator between these members. The clamp member 26 is se- -cured to two arms 28 (Fig. 2) which serve as a holder therefor, these arms having therein slots 30 through which extends a shaft 32 supported in bearings on the top of a cover plate 34 positioned over the wipers, so that the arms may not only swing with the clamp member about the axis of this shaft but may also move lengthwise relatively to the shaft. Extending through the arms 28 is a rod 36 (Fig. 5) on which are pivotally mounted two blocks 38 provided with plungers 40 arranged to bear against shoulders on the arms 28 above the rod 36 and controlled by springs 42 in the blocks. These springs tend to swing the blocks 38 downwardly about the rod 36 and position the blocks initially in engagement with the top faces of tail portions 44 of the arms 28. Pivotally connected to pins 46 onthe blocks 38 in locations higher than the rod 36 are links 48 which are also connected to crank arms 56 fast on the shaft 32. Springs 52 connected to the pins 46 and to brackets 54 fast on the cover plate 34 tend to pull the blocks 38 and. the arms 28 bodily in a direction lengthwise of the shoe away from the toe end of the shoe and also tend to swing the blocks and the arms about the axis of the shaft 32 in the direction to lift the clamp member 26 away from th member 24. Such bodily movement of the blocks and the arms in a direction away from the toe end of the shoe is limited by contact of the shaft 32 with the arms in the slots 36 formed in the latter, and such swinging movement about the axis of the shaft 32 is limited by contact of the tail portions 44 of the arms with the cover plate 34. When the parts are in these initial positions th clamp member 26 is both lifted and retracted lengthwise .of the shoe relatively to the member 24, as shown in Fig. 5, to facilitate the positioning of the margin of the toe end of the upper properly outspread over the member 24.

Movement of the clamp member 26 into clamping position is effected by turning the shaft 32 in a clockwise direction with reference to Figs. 1 and 5. At the beginning of such movement of the shaft the crank arms 56 act'through the links 48 to move the blocks 38 and the arms 28 lengthwise of the shoe against the resistance of the springs 52 as far as permitted by engagement of the shaft 32 with the arms in the slots 38 in the arms, thus advancing the clamp member 26 lengthwise of the shoe before it begins its downward swinging movement. When the lengthwise movements of the arms 28 are stopped by the shaft 32 the links 48 begin to swing the blocks 38 and the arms as a unit about the axis of the shaft 32 to carry the clamp member 26 into clamping engagement with the upper, and after this member has engaged the upper the blocks 38 are swung, by further movement of the links, about the rod 36 against the resistance of the springs 42, so that the clamp member is held yieldingly against the upper through these springs. The turning of the shaft 32 is effected by the operator by depression of a treadle 56 (Fig. 1) against the resistance of a spring 58, the treadle being connected by a flexible cable 66 to one arm of a lever 62 fast on the shaft 32. Pivotally mounted on the other arm of this lever is a finger 64 controlled by a compression spring 86 (Fi 2) which tends to swing the portion of the finger below the lever toward a lug 68 (Fig. 1) formed on the lever. Initially the finger is held by the spring with one side thereof in contact with a lug 19 formed on a plate 12 which is fast on one end of a rockshaft 14 whereby the toe wipers 26 are operated. When the operator depresses the treadle to effect the clamping or gripping of the toe end of the upper the finger 64 is carried upwardly by the lever 62 past the lug I6, whereupon the spring 66 swings the lower end of the finger to a position over the top of the lug as shown in'Flg. 1, such swinging movement of the finger being limited by contact of the lug 68 on the lever 62 with the end of a screw 16 carried by the finger, The clamp member 26 is thus locked in clamping position by the engagement of the lug 16 with the finger 64, so that the operator may remove his foot from the treadle. As the rockshaft 14 is turned in the power operation of the machine to operate the wipers, after the depression of the shoe and the pulling of the upper by the toe gripper 22, the lug I0 is carried out from under the finger 64, thereby releasing the lever 62 to permit the return of the clamp member 26 to starting position by the springs 52. The means thus described for gripping and for applying a pull to the toe end of the upper is constructed mainly as disclosed in the previously mentioned Letters Patent No. 2,075,852.

-As further described in detail in Letters Patent No, 2,026,539, the previously mentioned vertically movable shoe support slide 2 carries at its upper end a slide I8 (Figs. 1 and 3) mounted for movements in directions lengthwise of the shoe along guideways 80 on the slide 2. Supported by the slide I8 in a vertical shoe-supporting rod 82 having thereon screw threads engaged by cooperating threads of a bevel gear 84 rotatably mounted on the slide 18. The bevel gear 84 is engaged by another bevel gear 86 fast on a shaft 88 which is rotatable in the slide I8 and extends through a slot 90 inthe slide 2 to permit the movements of the slide I8 lengthwise of the shoe, the shaft 88 having thereon a hand wheel 92 for turning it to adjust the rod 82 vertically. Fast on the slide 2 are two horizontal rods 94 on which a heel carriage 96 is guided for movements lengthwise of the shoe, this heel carriage serving as a support for heel-lasting mechanism comprising wipers 98 (Fig. 1) for wiping the margin of the heel end of the upper inwardly over the insole and a heel band I00 for embracing and clamping the upper about the heel end of the last. To provide room for presenting the shoe to the machine the heel carriage 96 is held initially retracted lengthwise of the shoe by engagement of a latch I02 (Figs. 1 and 4) with a lug I04 on the lower end of the carriage, and upon its release by the latch the carriage is moved toward the shoe support by a spring I06 which abuts at its outer end against a bracket I08 fast on the rods 94. The latch I02 is carried by a lever IIO which is pivotally mounted at II2 on the bracket I08 and is swung downwardly to release the heel carriage by means hereinafter described. The movement of the carriage toward the shoe is limited by its engagement with washers II4 (Fig. 3) mounted on the rods 94 and abutting against the slide 2. Substantially at the time when the carriage engages the washers the shoe is moved lengthwise into engagement with the heel band I00 by a short movement of the slide I8 toward the carriage 86 along the guideways 80. For controlling the slide 18 there is provided another slide I I6 movable in directions lengthwise of the shoe along a guideway formed on a bracket I I8 which is fast on the slide 2. Rotatably mounted in the slide H6 is a shaft I20 which carries a bevel gear I 22 in engagement with another bevel gear I24 fast on a shaft I26 at right angles to the shaft I20 and also rotatably mounted in the slide II 6. The shaft I26 is provided with screw threads engaging cooperating threads in a nut I28 mounted in a recess in the slide I8. On the shaft I20 is a hand wheel I30 for turning it. It will thus be seen that by tnrning this hand wheel the slide I8 may be adjusted in directions lengthwise of the shoe relatively to the slide I I6, and that by the adjusting means the slide I8 and the slide II 6 are held in fixed relation to each other so as to be movable as a unit in directions lengthwise of the shoe.

Pivotally connected at one end to a pin I32 in the slide I I6 is a link I34 which is pivotally connected at its other end to a crank arm I36 (Fig.

1) fast on a shaft I38 mounted to turn in the bracket I08. On the hub of this crank arm are gear teeth in engagement with a pinion I40 which is fast on a shaft I42 also mounted to turn in the bracket I08. Fast on the shaft I42 is a carriage.

depending arm I44 the lower end of which is in the path of the horizontally movable heel carriage 96. Accordingly, when the carriage is moved outwardly to its initial position where it is held by the latch I02, as it is automatically near the end of the cycle of operations of the machine through connections including a chain I46 as heretofore, it acts through the arm I44, the pinion I and the crank arm I36 to move the link I34 toward the left (Fig. l) and thereby to move the slide H6 and the shoe support slide I8 also to the left. In this manner the shoe is moved lengthwise in a direction away from the heel band I00 which is being moved in the opposite direction away from the shoe by the heel Such movement of the link I34 results in compression of a spring I48 held between a nut I50 on the link and a plate I52 on the bracket H8. The slide H6 and the connected slide I8 are held in the positions to which they are thus moved by the link I84 by means of a latch I 54 pivotally mounted on the bracket H8 and controlled by a spring I 56, this latch engaging a plate I58 on the slide I I6. Accordingly, when the heel carriage 86 is released by the latch I02 after the next shoe has been mounted on the shoe support, the slide I8 is held in its initial position by the latch I54 as the heel carriage is moved toward the shoe by the spring I06. When the carriage has nearly reached the position in which it is stopped by the washers I I4, a screw I60 adjustably mounted in the lower end of the carriage engages a depending arm I62 of the latch I 54 and causes the latch torelease the slide H6. The spring I48 then acts through the link I84 to move the shoe support slide I8 toward the heel carriage until stopped by the engagement of the heel end of the shoe with the heel b and I00. It will thus be seen that the position of each shoe lengthwise relatively to the toe-lasting means is determined by the heel band which acts as an abutment in contact with the heel-end face of the upper, the heel carriage 96 being always moved to the position determined by the washers H4.

The lever IIO which carries the latch I02 is normally held up against the lug I04 on the heel carriage 96 by a. spring I64 connected to a rod I66 which is pivotally connected at its upper end to the lever. The rod extends downwardly through an opening in an arm I68 (Fig. 6) which is fast on a rockshaft I10. At its lower end the rod I66 carries a nut II2 arranged to be engaged by the arm I68 to impart downward movement to the rod and thereby to release the heel carriage from the latch I02 in response to turning movement of the rockshaft I70 in a counterclockwise direction with reference to Fig. 6. For imparting such turning movement to the rockshaft there is also fast thereon an arm I14 provided with a roll I16 engaged by an inclined face I18 formed on a lug I88 which is part of a bar I82 movable lengthwise in a bracket (not shown). A member I84 extending upwardly from the front end of the bar I82 is engaged by the rear end of a rod I86 slidingly mounted in a bearing in the frame and having fast thereon a plunger I88 movable rearwardly in a boss I90 on the frame against the resistance of a spring I92. In response, therefore, to rearward movement of the plunger I88 the heel carriage is released as described, the rearward movement of the barv I82 being effected against the resistance of a. re-

turn spring I94 acting on a lever I96 provided at its upper end with a finger I98 extending into a recess in the bar.

The plunger I88 has been provided heretofore with a pad arranged to be engaged by the knee of the operator to efiect the release of the heel carriage after the depression of the treadle 56 to close the toe gripper 22 on the upper. To save time in the operation of the machine and also to avoid whatever objections there may sometimes be to the operation of the plunger by the knee, the machine herein shown is provided, for purposes of this invention, with means for operatin the plunger by further movement of the treadle after the gripping of the toe end of the upper. Secured on the boss I96 by a set screw 288 is a holder 262 on which is pivotally mounted by means of a rod 264 a three-armed lever 266 one arm 208 of which is arranged to engage the front end of the plunger I88. Another arm 210 of the lever carries a screw 212 arranged to engage the top of the holder 232 when the plunger I88 is in its initial position, this screw serving to limit the forward movement of the plunger. A third arm N4 of the lever is provided with an opening through which extends a rod Zlfi pivotally connected at its lower end to the head of a stud 2|8 mounted to turn in the treadle 56. Adjustably secured to the rod M6 by a set screw 220 is a block 222 arranged to engage the arm 214 and thus to swing the lever 208 to effect the release of the heel carriage in response to downward movement of the treadle. The block 222 is spaced initially far enough from the arm 2M to permit such downward movement of the treadle as to close the toe gripper on the upper prior to the release of the heel carriage. The release of the heel carriage is thereafter effected by that further downward movement of the treadle which takes place in the swinging of the blocks 38 of the gripper-closing mechanism against the resistance of the springs 42 in the manner hereinbefore described.

The previously mentioned threaded rod 82 which serves as part of the means for supporting the heel-end portion of the last and shoe has formed on its upper end, as heretofore, a head 224 (Figs. '7 and 8) having therein a guideway 226 extending laterally of the shoe and curved about an axis extending lengthwise of the shoe in the vicinity of the bottom of its heel end, as more fully disclosed in Letters Patent No. 2,026,539, and mounted in this guideway for movement in one direction or the other laterally of the shoe to permit the bottoms of the toe nds of right and left shoes to be properly positioned relatively to the toe-lasting means is a block 228. This block has been provided heretofore with a last pin arranged to extend into the spindle hole in the heel end of the last. To save time in presenting a shoe to the machine, in view of the fact that such spindle holes are often not uniformly positioned in different lasts, there is provided in the construction herein shown, instead of such a last pin, a plate 238 secured by a rivet 232 on the top of the block 228 in a position further determined by a dowel pin 234. Mounted for adjusting movements along the plate 238 is another plate 236 arranged, as shown in Fig. 'l, for supporting engagement with the top face of the heel end of the last and having at one end an upwardly extending portion 238 provided with a recess 240 with an inclined wall curved laterally of the shoe for engagement with the exterior of the last or of the upper thereon in a location between the toe-end portion and the heel-end portion of the last. The plate 236 is held in different adjusted positions, as may be required by shoes of different sizes, by a bar 242 (Fig. 9) and a screw 244 extending through the bar and threaded in the plate 230. The bar has at its opposite ends upraised portions engaging the opposite side portions of the plate 236 underneath, and when the screw 244 is tightened it acts through the bar to clamp the plate 236 against flanges 246 on the sides of the pltae 238. It will thus be seen that in presenting a shoe to the machine the operator merely places the top of the heel end of the last on the plate 236 in the position illustrated in Fig. '7, and that when the slide 18 and the parts thereon are moved by the .spring I48 toward the heel carriage 96, as hereinbefore described, the shoe is moved lengthwise toward the heel band I06 and is pressed against it by the upstanding portion 238 of the plate 236 which thereafter prevents its displacement away from the heel band. Accordingly, notwithstanding the absence of any last pin, the heel band is rendered effective to determine the position of the last lengthwise relatively to the toe-lasting means and to apply the required clamping pressure to the heel end of the upper in the lasting operation.

If the machine is used to last a shoe of the Oxford type mounted on a last of less height at its heel-end portion than that shown in Fig. 7, there is preferably utilized a block 248 (Fig. 1) for engaging and supporting the top face of the heel end of the last, this block being supported on the plate 230 in the position determined by two pins 256 extending from the block into holes 252 (Fig. 8) in the plate. To provide room for the block 248 the plate 236 has in one end a curved recess 254 (Fig. 8). The block 248 may be detached when desired merely by lifting it off the plate 238. It will be understood that when the block 248 is used the upwardly extending portion 238 of the plate 236 performs the same function as when the block is not in use. It will further be understood that while this upwardly extending portion of the plate 236 will usually engage the upper, it may engage the last itself under some conditions.

As explained in Letters Patent No. 2,026,539, the purpose of movement of the block 228 along the curved guideway 226. when the block has been provided as heretofore with a last pin, has been to permit the block and the pin to assume positions in accordance with the lateral inclinations of the heel ends of right and left lasts when the lasts are tipped so that the bottoms of their toe ends are positioned in proper relation to the plane of the toe wipers. In the construction herein shown, notwithstanding the omission of the last pin, provision for such movement of the block 228 is retained, so that the block and the plates 238 and 236 supported thereon similarly may assume different positions for right and left lasts when the lasts are of a style such as to require it. Since each last extends into the recess 240 in the upstanding portion 238 of the plate 236, the block and the plates may be readily moved in one direction or the other along the guideway 226 by the engagement of the shoe or last with the upstanding portion 238 as the work is presented to the machine. To limit adjustably their movements in opposite directions, there are provided stops 258 corresponding to similar stops shown in the last-mentioned Letters Patent, these stops in the construction herein shown being arranged to engage the sides of the 9 plate 236. The stops are movable as heretofore along a guideway on the head 224 of the rod 82 and are adjusted equal distances toward or from each other by a rod 258 provided with right and left threads and having a knob 26!] thereon for turning it. It will be understood that, if desired, the stops 256 may be so adjusted as to maintain the block 228 and the parts thereon in a central position.

In the use of the machine, in so far as it is of interest with reference to the present invention, the operator takes a shoe which, as herein shown, will usually have been already side lasted from its toe-end portion to its heel-end portion and mounts it on the toe rest 6 and the heel-end support. If the shoe is one of the Oxford type, as shown in Fig. 1, the block 248 will have been mounted on the plate 230 for engagement with the top face of the heel end of the last. Otherwise the top of the heel end of the last is engaged by the plate 236 as shown in Fig. 7. In thus presenting the work the operator positions it with a portion of the last, and usually also of the upper, in the recess 24!} of the upstanding portion 238 of the plate 235 and by moving the heel end of the shoe laterally in one direction or the other, depending upon whether the shoe is a right or a left shoe, shifts the block 223 and the parts thereon to a position determined by engagement of one or the other of the stops 256 with the plate 236. In presenting the work the operator also positions the margin of the toe end of the upper outspread between the jaws of the toe gripper 22. After the work has thus been properly presented the operator closes the toe gripper on the upper by depression of the treadle 56 and by further depression of the treadle thereafter causes the block 222 (Fig. 6) to swing the lever 286 in the direction to impart rearward movement to the plunger I38. By this means the latch I02 (Fig. 1) is moved downwardly to release the heel carriage es, whereupon the heel carriage is moved by the spring I06 to the position determined by its engagement with the washers H4 (Fig. 3), thus carrying the heel band I toward the shoe. Near the end of this movement of the heel carriage the latch I54 is operated to release the slide 18 to the action of the spring I 48 which moves the slide and the parts thereon to carry the shoe toward the heel band and thus to cause the heel band properly to engage the heel end of the shoe. Such movement is imparted to the shoe by the engagement of the upstanding portion 238 of the plate 236 with the last or with the upper thereon, the operator at this time still holding the shoe down on the heel-end support with his hand. The operator then starts the power operation of the machine by swinging the arm l4 forwardly, and the machine lasts the toe and heel ends of the shoe in a manner which need not be described herein in view of the disclosures of the previously mentioned Letters Patent. It will be understood that after depression of the treadle 56 for the purposes above described the operator releases it to permit it to be returned to its initial position by the spring 58, the toe gripper being held closed on the upper by the engagement of the lug 19 (Fig. 1) With the finger 64. Upon the release of the treadle the connections for controlling the heel carriage assume the positions in which they are shown in Figs. 1 and 6, so that upon return of the heel carriage and the slide 18 to their initial positions near the end of the cycle of operations they will be held by the latches I62 and 154, respectively.

Novel'features relating more particularly to the means herein disclosed for supporting the heel end of the last and for controlling the last with respect to lengthwise movement are claimed in a divisional application, Serial No. 607,813, filed on July 30, 1945.

Having described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a lasting machine, a'device for gripping the marginal portion of the toe end of an upper on a last, an operating member movable by the operator to close said device on the upper, another device for clamping the heel-end portion of the upper against the last, spring means for moving said clamping device lengthwise of the last into position thus to clamp the upper, means for holding the clamping device initially retracted from its clamping position, and mechanism for releasing the clamping device to the action of said spring means by movement of said operating member.

2. In a lasting machine, a device for gripping the marginal portion of the toe end of an upper on a last, an operating member movable by the operator to close said device on the upper, another device for clamping the heel-end portion of the upper against the last, spring means for moving said clamping device lengthwise of the last into position thus to clamp the upper, means for holding the clamping device initially retracted against the resistance of said spring means, and lost-motion mechanism for releasing the clamping device to the action of said spring means by further movement of said operating member after the gripping of the toe end of the upper.

3. In a lasting machine, a device for gripping the marginal portion of the toe end of an upper on a last, a treadle movable by the operator to close said device on the upp r, another device for clamping the heel-end portion of the upper against the last, spring means for moving said clamping device lengthwise of the last into position thus to clamp the upper, a latch for holding f the clamping device initially retracted from its clamping postion, and mechanism for operating said latch to release the clamping device by further movement of said treadle after the gripping of the toe end of the upper.

4. In a lasting machine, a device for gripping the marginal portion of the toe end of an upper on a last, an operating member movable by the operator to close said device on the upper, another device for clamping the heel-end portion of the upper against the last, spring means for moving said clamping device lengthwise of the last into position thus to clamp the upper, means for holding the clamping device initially retracted from its clamping position, mechanism including a plunger movable to release the clamping device to the action of said spring means, and means for thus moving said plunger by the movement of said operating member.

5. In a lasting machine, a device for gripping the marginal portion of the toe end of an upper on a last, a treadle movable by the operator to close said device on the upper, another device for clamping the heel-end portion of the upper against the last, spring means for moving said clamping device lengthwise of the last into position thus to clamp the upper, means for holding the clamping device initially retracted against the resistance of said spring means, means including a plunger movable to release the clamping device 1 I to the action of said spring means, a lever for thus moving said plunger, and a lost-motion connection between said lever and the treadle for operating the lever by further movement of the treadle after the gripping of the toe end of the upper.

6. In a lasting machine, a device. for gripping the marginal portion of the toe end of an upper on a last, an operating member movable by the operator to close said device on the upper, mecha nism for lasting the heel end of the upper, means for holding said lasting mechanism initially retracted lengthwise of the shoe from lasting position, spring means for moving the lasting mechanism into lasting position when it is released by said holding means, and means for thus releasing 12 thelasting mechanism by movement. of said operating member.

'7. In a lasting machine, a device for gripping the marginal portion of the toe end of an upper on a last, an operating member movable by the operator to close said device on the upper, mechanism for lasting the heel end of the upper, a, latch for holding said lasting mechanism initially retracted lengthwise of the shoe from lasting position, spring means for moving the lasting mechanism into lasting position when it is released by said latch, and means for operating the latch to release said mechanism by further movement of said operating member after the gripping of the toe end of the upper.

THEODORE P. COURCHENE. 

